Firelights
by Veridia
Summary: A drunken night out, Sasuke confesses that they will be married shortly, breaking Naruto's prior engagement. And Naruto finds his simple world of straight lines spinning wildly out of control. Naruto/Sasuke. AU


Firelights

By: Veridia

Summary: A drunken night out, Sasuke confesses that they will be married shortly, breaking Naruto's prior engagement. And Naruto finds his simple world of straight lines spinning wildly out of control. Naruto/Sasuke.

Chapter 1

Dedicated to: Since there isn't really a claimant, I'll just gift it off to my girlfriend/beta. All attributable mistakes in the editing are solely her fault.

A/N: This is a darker and a much longer take on OpenEnded Daydreaming, for those who are curious, or see little snippets of that story in this. They are related- think of this as a darker evaluation of a more lighthearted story. I see fanfiction ate my separators. I'm sorry if it made the story hard to read.

x0x0x0

"Gee, bastard. Did you have to drink so much?" Naruto huffed, supporting his dead-weight of a friend.

Sasuke blinked at him, as though trying to figure out if Naruto was a hallucination created by his drunk and befuddled mind. His glossy black hair seemed to reflect the harsh neon light above them, making his hair seem full of deep silver highlights.

"You should have your own octane rating, bastard. If you had anymore alcohol, you would boast of the fatal feat of being the only human with a 20% alcohol in his blood rating." Naruto adjusted his grip on his teetering friend, who seemed to be trying to faceplant himself on the road as quickly as possible.

"Hn."

Naruto gave up. Sasuke was not the easiest to talk to even when he was sober, and he didn't expect it to change now that he was blind-roaringly drunk. He concentrated on getting them to his house safely, _without incident, _because he was in no mood to figure out what Sasuke would do if left to his own devices.

"Don't trip over stones there, bastard. I have no desire to meet asphalt, unlike you."

Sasuke fixed him with his best death glare, or what he could manage in the circumstances. "I do not trip over stones, idiot."

Naruto shrugged the glare off. After six years together, he was immune to all of Sasuke's arsenal, having faced them one time or the other.

"Yeah, whatever. Who just tripped over the clump of grass on the footpath?"

Sasuke gave him a homicidal scowl.

"Why were you trying to get that wasted? Getting blind drunk at a company party- not impressive, Sasuke."

"I don't think only Gaara and Neji being there counts as a "company party"."

"It was still a company sponsored affair, you bastard! Gaara and Neji might be your friends," he ignored the snort at "friends", "but they were still there as your business contacts, not you drinking buddies."

"Hn."

Naruto mentally counted till ten. He had a nagging suspicion that if he didn't, he would strangle Sasuke, and it was generally against his principles to hurt the mentally incapacitated.

Gaining a visible hold on his temper, he interjected cheerfully, "Since you wanted to get drunk so bad, why couldn't you just wait till my engagement party? To Hinata? Have you even looked at the invite yet, Sasuke?"

HIs friend shifted and didn't answer. But he could tell that Sasuke was thinking over something, because even in the dappered light of the neons, he could see his hair shadowing his eyes.

Deciding to not give it much thought, he ploughed on. "Hinata really wants to see you there, Sasuke. You're going to come, right?"

Naruto wasn't sure why he had asked such a foolish question. Even though Sasuke went through great pains- and insults to make sure he knew that he was _not _the sharpest crayon in _any_ box, this was insane even for him. But Sasuke's demeanour, his strange drunkenness- they were all putting him on edge.

The lights of a passing car illuminated his face for a split second, just in time for Naruto to see Sasuke's cold mask slip. Something inscrutable flashed across his eyes, before it was hidden behind his walls again.

Now, Naruto was well and truly concerned. "Sasuke?"

"I'm not coming, Naruto."

The words hit him like a brick wall. "WHAT?! Why?!"

Sasuke's response was slow in coming. "Because you're not going to marry Hinata, Naruto."

Before he could understand the implications of what Sasuke said, his next words sent him reeling even further. "You're going to marry me."

He grabbed his friend harshly by the collar and drew him up. "What did you just say, asshole?"

Sasuke's eyes were casual, unfazed. "It's not that hard to comprehend, is it, dead last? You are going to marry me. Father already talked to Hinata, and your engagement to her has been broken. Now all that remains is for us to formalise _our_ engagement."

His fingers were on Sasuke's pale neck now, digging in harshly. "What are you talking about, Uchiha?" He growled dangerously.

The bastard had the gall to smirk back at him, that superior smirk which he had always hated. The one that implied how high Sasuke was above him, and just how inferior he could be. He would not let Sasuke make him look stupid today.

"You are taking this joke too far, Sasuke."

In response, Sasuke's hands gripped his collar and pulled him close enough to see himself reflected in those dark black eyes. "I am not drunk, idiot. I had only one glass of champagne. The act was just a trick so I could lure you away from that bitch."

He could feel Sasuke's warm blood dripping down his hands, and his unique scent of spiced honey and cardamom wafting in the breeze. He dug his nails in harder, and noticed that Sasuke didn't even _flinch_.

"You lied to me...? What for, Sasuke?"

Sasuke yanked him even closer. "You are going to marry me, Naruto. Me. I refuse to share my property with anyone, and that Hyuuga floozy is not even on my radar."

"When did this happen?" He could barely hold himself back for yelling.

"It was finalised about a week back. Talks about it had been going on for the past month. You were just too stupid to notice. It has all been taken care of, dead last. Hyuuga Hiashi agreed, as did his daughter. You are my fiance now, and I bought you from her."

He remembered what he was doing a week ago- distributing invites, buying furniture for his house, believing his world could not be more perfect now that the beautiful, demure Hinata had agreed to be his wife. He had no idea that the world he was working so hard to build no longer existed. Because Sasuke had bought him like a commodity from his fiancee, and she had sold him.

"Why, Sasuke?" He hoped his voice wasn't as strangled as it seemed, but he choked and realised that a stray tear had dropped from his eye.

In response, Sasuke hauled him close and kissed him roughly. The kiss was brutal and harsh, he could feel Sasuke's teeth sink into his lower lip, and the heady, metallic scent of blood filling his nose.

"You would just ruin a fine girl, and you know she can't handle you. No one can handle you like I do, Naruto. No one knows you like I do, either. You belong to me. You're mine, and I will not give you to anyone, especially not that Hyuuga hussy. You will never marry her. Never." Sasuke's eyes held a dark promise. "Run as far as you want, but you will never escape me. We are meant to be together. And I will make sure you, and everyone else knows it."

"Your life with that silver-eyed slut is over, Naruto. You have no real engagement to her. Just give it up."

Blood boiling, he drew his hand back and backhanded him.

Sasuke's head whipped to the side with the blow, but he still looked at him with a patient look, as though he was a master merely tolerating his favourite slave's rebellion. Repulsed, he dropped him.

"Don't you dare approach me or speak to me ever again, Sasuke Uchiha. You disgust me, and I despise you. Do not think you are welcome in my life anymore."

He turned and left, not bothering to look behind even once to the man he had deserted on the pavement road.

Behind him, Sasuke laughed mockingly. "Run as far as you want, Naruto. In the end, you will come back to me."

0x0x0x0x

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing._

_Riiiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiing. _

Naruto rubbed an eye sleepily, looking up to gaze at his roof. Beside him, his phone vibrated dangerously, teetering on the table and about to fall.

He grabbed it. "What?"

"Naruto-san."

Naruto sat up, bolt upright in his bed. Itachi's soft, cool voice had knocked all the sleepiness out of him.

"Itachi?"

The answering voice was cooler than he had expected it to be, filled with frozen courtesy that made him feel more humiliated than before. "I heard you left my brother, my very drunk brother, on the streets of Konoha at two in the night. I didn't expect it from you, Naruto-san."

Naruto shivered at the dangerous tone. "I'm... sorry..." How could he have believed that his actions wouldn't come to the notice of Itachi, the man who had an overbearing, insane love for his brother? He was surprised that Itachi hadn't had him murdered yet.

Thoughts of Sasuke brought memories of the last night to the surface, and he spat acidly into the phone. "But I'm not sorry for leaving his fucking ass on the road, Itachi. I never will be. He deserved it."

"Naruto..." Itachi's voice carried both a warning and a threat,but he was too far gone to care about it.

"I refuse to be sorry. The bloody fucking bastard wasn't even drunk, he was pretending. The most alcohol he had was a glass of champagne celebrating the end of my bloody engagement. The one he broke so he could marry me. But you knew about it already, didn't you, Itachi?" Noticing that his voice was taking a very bitter tone, he wisely held his tongue.

"I- " A small sigh echoed. "Yes, Naruto, I did. He didn't do it on his own volition, Father wished for him to marry you. And the arrangements to the same were made by Father as well. Naruto, I don't approve of what they did or are are doing. But I love my younger brother, and it is hard for me to watch him get hurt as well."

Naruto snorted angrily. "Hurt? What hurt? Sasuke never gets hurt. He never has. Stop feeding me these cockamamie lies, Itachi."

Naruto looked around his room. He had only fuzzy memories of his return home- he had half run and half sprinted back to his house, and had collapsed against the door. And then he had wrecked everything, partially blinded by tears and boiling anger. And he remembered the pain of Hinata's phone call, as she clarified what Sasuke had said.

His life now lay shattered in front of him. Everything he had worked for had just been taken from him. Sasuke knew how he had felt about Hinata for years, how he had worked to gain her respect by dragging himself out of his circumstances with both hands, and how much he had sacrificed to be able to stand with her, as equals. A decade of blood, sweat and tears that Sasuke had just flushed away as though it was nothing.

A strangled, broken sob rose from his throat, and he let the phone slip from his grasp as he tried to stifle his emotions. Warm tears escaped through the gaps of his fingers anyway.

He had no idea why Sasuke chose to snatch everything from him.

"Naruto?" Itachi's voice was muffled, almost distant.

Knowing it was useless to try and stop the tears entirely, he retrieved his phone from his thick carpet, trying hard not to sound pathetic. "Why did he do this to me, Itachi? I know he never really liked her, but I thought he understood that I loved Hinata."

Itachi's answer was simple, obvious. "Because he loves you, Naruto."

He could feel the rage that had boiled up previously returning with a vengeance. "No! Sasuke doesn't love me, Itachi. I'm not sure he loves anybody. He's only jeopardising my happiness because he hates seeing me happy!"

He could feel his nails digging into his palm.

"Naruto... that's not true. It has always been in Sasuke's nature to go after what he wants, and I know he has been progressively depressed about your engagement to Hinata. He knows you would have never seen him, otherwise."

Naruto shook his head. "No. No! The bastard hates me, Itachi. He puts me down, he insults me at every turn, and he doesn't even stop from showing me up even when I put my heart into it. He has never shown me an ounce of concern- our friendship exists solely because I'm too stupid to let him go. And now you want me to believe he loves me?" He threw his head back and laughed derisively. "You have got to be kidding me." There was real pain in his voice, and he could almost feel Itachi's sympathy.

"Naruto..." Three kilometres away, Itachi stared at his phone in dismay. Naruto was important to him as well, a precious friend. Their friendship was an odd one, originally built around Sasuke as their centre, before it morphed into a warm, companionable relationship built on trust and respect. And he could find himself being torn into two - one that could console his blond friend, devastated by the loss of his engagement, or his brother, who would suffer in silence as the person he wanted the most slipped steadily from his grasp. Oh god, who to support?

On the line, Naruto gave a little hysterical giggle, and Itachi snapped to him, scared that the loss of his engagement would affect Naruto deeply enough to leave mental scars.

Naruto brushed the tears from his cheeks. "He just wants me to be the mantlepiece for his mansion. A pretty face that is there to attract more people to his company so he can take over some more of Sound. I'm just a pawn to him, a pawn that he can jerk anytime he wants because he thinks I'll come running anytime he calls. I'm not his chess piece, and I refuse to be. Hinata didn't see me as a pretty face. She didn't see me as Sasuke's replacement, if only I could change my hair and get black contacts. She didn't even see me as the sole heir to Konoha's leadership, or Naruto the Hollywood actor. She saw me for me, and Sasuke took all that away so he could use my influence to bully more people."

There was no answer.

"I refuse to accept this. This is my life. The bastard has no reason to interfere in my life, and I won't let him make the most important decision of my life."

"Naruto! Stop! Don't do thi-"

"Don't do what, Itachi? Stop being his little faithful servant who has never once turned him down? Is that why he suddenly thinks he has a right to my life and my marriage? Did I sign away my freedom to him too, so now he chooses whom I should marry? Or does he think I'm just a stupid blond who can't even take care of his wife and thus liberated Hinata?"

"Naruto!" Itachi thundered, loud enough to rattle his phone. He let it fall limply onto his bed.

"Listen to me well, Naruto. Sasuke loves you. He has loved you for more years than I care to count. To him you're more precious than anything- his company, his pride, anything. He would go to any lengths for you, Naruto, and I know he will not survive losing you. You are not his showpiece, and you are not his pet. You are what he needs to live. I don't support how he is going about this. He has never really been one for emotional displays. But I don't have the will to watch my younger brother die as the person he loves moves out of his reach forever." Deep in his heart, Itachi fervently hoped that he had not made the wrong choice. Because the aftermath of it would not be pleasant for anybody. "You can make each other happy, Naruto. Just try giving him a chance."

Naruto laughed bitterly. "So you too, huh? There is only one person that I want to make me happy in this life, Itachi, and it's not going to be your brother. It will never be him. So all the talks of me being precious are just pretty follies. "Precious, Important"? That is rich coming from the person who just left me stranded on the sidewalk of his life because I wasn't "worthy" to be in the same company of his high IQ peers."

"You don't know anything, Itachi. You don't know anything about us, and I don't care enough to tell you. The bastard wrecked my life, and I need to pick up my pieces. I need my engagement to Hinata back. And I am going to get it. This is my life, and I won't let Sasuke take away the one thing that is precious to _me. _Never."

"I won't let you stop me, and I'm not going to sway. Sasuke can burn in hell for all I care."

He sensed Itachi start at the pure hatred in his voice. "Nar-"

Naruto snapped his phone shut. Grabbing his car keys, he walked to his car with an inexorable purpose in mind.

There was no going back. He had made his choice, and Sasuke was not it.

x0x0x0x0x

"Hinata-sama, I tried to stop thi-" Naruto batted away Hinata's frenzied secretary carelessly, not particularly caring if she could be injured by his actions. Inflamed when Hinata's bodyguards had stopped him down the floor, he had fought or pushed past everyone to get to her. He had seen Neji out of the corner of his eye, but the man had wisely stepped back when he realised that for now, Naruto could not be reasoned with.

Hinata looked up from her work, and Naruto momentarily forgot what he was doing. Her pretty silver eyes were sad, but calm. There was no fear, no nervousness, no _regret. _Naruto could feel a part of his heart die.

"Let him pass, Saaya-san. Please return to your desk and inform all who approach that I do not wish to be disturbed till Naruto-san has left."

The bewildered secretary bowed formally, then pulled the door shut behind them with a "snap".

They were alone. For a few minutes, all that lay between them was the quiet hum of the air conditioner.

"Naruto-kun..."

At the sound of her voice, Naruto started, almost leaping from his spot to rush to her, pull her from her chair and wrap her in a crushing, desperate embrace. The papers on her desk went flying with the force of his actions. She smelled of Jasmine, and her body was pliable under his touch.

For a few torturous seconds, she did nothing. Then her small hands came back around his back, and returned his desperate embrace with the equal power of her own.

He held her for a long minute, before she had the strength to push him away.

"Hinata..."

Her hands were gentle, but firm as she guided him to a chair. He sank down, afraid of what she might say.

"Naruto-kun, please."

He reached out a hand to grab her, pulling her down to his lap. She resisted, her silver eyes frightened and tired. "No, Naruto-kun. You know I can't be with you anymore."

He could feel his heart bleed.

"Why? You know I love you! And last I knew, you loved me, too! Or did you lie to me, Hinata?"

She shook her head wildly, black hair whipping past. "No! Of course not. But, Naruto-kun, I am doing what is best for us."

She reached out to stroke him with a thin, pale hand.

"How is breaking us apart the best for us, Hinata?! If you love me just as much as I love you, why are you sending me away?"

Her eyes were pained. "Naruto-kun, you don't understand. You don't love me, not the way I do. You don't feel the fiery passion that burns in your soul and you don't find it with me. I don't animate you, Naruto-kun. There is no "spark" in your eyes when you look at me. When you see me, there is warmth and there is trust, but there is no real passion. I'm your comfort, Naruto-kun, but I am not what you need the most in this world. When you see me, you aren't alive. You don't glow in my presence, even though I've tried my hardest to be the other half of your soul, your twin flame. The person who makes you feel alive." Tears clung to her eyelashes, and a stray tear dropped onto his hand.

It lay there, a pearly spot that burnt.

She gathered her courage and continued. "But I've seen you with Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun. I've seen you glow in his presence, and I've seen the sparkles in your eyes and I've seen the brightness of your smile with him. What you and Sasuke-kun share is a burning zeal, and he makes you happier than I ever could. All I ever am is someone who stands to your side, wishing desperately that the one who made you shine was me."

He averted his eyes, unable to meet her anymore. "I don't love Sasuke, Hinata. I never have. The asshole was my friend, just as much as he was my enemy. We were rivals, and there is nothing between us that can even marginally qualify as 'passion'."

She turned his face to face her again, and he flinched. There was nothing he hated worse than to see Hinata cry.

"I know, Naruto-kun. But even so, rivalry with Sasuke-san makes you happier than being with me ever did."

Naruto shot out a hand to capture her wet chin, and pressed his lips to hers. She answered his intensity, matching it with every movement.

He broke the kiss firmly. "How can you say I don't love you? I love you! There is no one I love more than you."

Hinata only smiled faintly, her eyes carrying even more hurt than before. "Naruto-kun. I tried my hardest to give you everything. I wanted to make you happier than anyone else, and I wanted you to be at my side. But I didn't succeed."

Incredulous, Naruto stared at her as if she was crazy. "You did make me happier than ever. What are you talking about?"

Her voice was quiet, but there was heartbreak in it. "Naruto-kun, you don't believe me today. But there will be a day when you will understand what I mean. When Sasuke-san approached me, I realised that what he said was true. The sparks between you could never be lit by me. He challenged you, inflamed you. You worked hard to beat him. He complements you, Naruto-kun. I wish you happiness with him."

He could only stare. "You agreed-?"

She smiled sadly. "Yes, I did. I love you, Naruto-kun. I want what is best for you. I know I can not trap you into something that you will only hate a few years down the line. Some day, your love for me will fade, and you will resent me for keeping you from the one you truly desire to be with. I know you will deny it now, but I swear to you, it is the truth. Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san loves you too. And I am sure he can make you happy."

She got off of him, and walked back to her desk. "I only regret that I could not make you love me, Naruto-kun, but I do not regret a moment between us- they are memories I will treasure for life. I gave you all I had, and I know now that it was not enough. I can understand that. But I can move on now, now that I have no regrets of the past. I hope we can still stay friends, Naruto-kun."

And with the polite dismissal, Naruto knew his audience with her was over. Yes, she was hurt, and she was miserable. But his Hinata had given up on them, and there were no regrets.

In all his life, Naruto had never wanted to kill Sasuke more.

He smiled at her once, his heart breaking, and left the room.

0x0x0x0x

Sasuke was the last person he had wanted to see in the corridor, and he set aside his rage to walk past the black haired man. It took every ounce of his willpower to not just turn around and hit him, like he deserved.

"Naruto, how nice to see you here. You can accompany me in giving Hinata our wedding invite."

Naruto didn't know what happened, only that a red haze had clouded his mind till he was grabbing Sasuke by his collar and slamming him against the wall. "Why. Are. You. Here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke only answered him with a superior smirk. "Watch your hands, dead last. They're going to tear through my collar, and this shirt is expensive, not like the threadbare sacks you wear."

He slammed him up harder. "Who gave you the permission to decide that we would marry, Uchiha?"

Sasuke seemed to have an sceptical expression, as if he could not believe Naruto's idiocy. Then he smiled smoothly. "Why, of course, you did. Or, your contract to the Hyuugas did, which was transfered over to me when I bought you from them. And it states that your marriage to Hinata can be shifted, if they believe that a better match for you exists."

"WHAT?!"

Sasuke knocked his hands off easily, and smoothed his suit. Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a paper. "This is our marriage contract, where you agree to marry me at the end of this month."

He snatched the paper from him. And at the end of the agreement, his loopy scrawl mocked him back viciously in return.

0x0x0x0x

To be continued.

Do let me know what you think. Authors appreciate feedback, no matter what kind it may be. You can even leave behind constructive criticism, and I promise not to take your head off and incorporate it into the next chapter.


End file.
